Filtration Soiling Do you have unsightly black marks around carpet edges, baseboards, under doorways and near HVAC ((heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), returns? Most homes have some of this mystery black stuff somewhere on the carpet and it’s one of the most popular questions asked “What is it and what causes it?” Mainly homes that have carpet with lighter shades of carpet or white carpet will see it starting to just come out on nowhere. You may have also noticed it mysteriously forming around baseboards in the perimeter of rooms, hallways, and under doorways. This type of soiling is called filtration soiling and in most cases it cannot be permanently removed. Filtration Soiling can be usually found in heavier concentrations around the HVAC returns, 2nd story of a home and above floors. Homes built on crawl spaces can have filtration on the first floor too. It can also form around A/C vents in the carpet. In some severe cases it can extend out over a foot from walls. Filtration soil can even occur in the center of rooms where floor boards meet. Filtration soiling’s main culprit is the HVAC system drawing air from the living air space (in rooms) and pulling through the carpet edge where it meets the baseboard. Just behind the baseboards and sheet rock where the framing of the house meets is a gap where the air passes through inside the wall. Filtration Soil is formed from the carpet filtering ,fine dust, pollution, pollen, ash from fire places, oil burning devices, gas heat, burning food on the oven and everything that is found in your indoor air environment. The same soil that is composed in your A/C filter is the same soil in Filtration Soil. The soils are filtered onto the carpet as the air passes through the walls and under doorways; thus creating the dark lines. This airflow flows inside the wall cavity and eventually leads to the HVAC system. Improper sealing or not enough sealing at the connection points of the HVAC can create this draw of air along the edges of carpet. The home itself may have not been properly insulated and indoor air or even outdoor air can freely flow out or within the home. Attempting to permanently prevent Filtration Soil from occurring is a difficult process and may not be worth the time and effort to stop. Here are a few tips to help with the problem. 1.) Seal the duct system by finding the leaks and sealing them with HVAC Duct Tape. All systems have a lot of small holes and leaks especially near junction boxes where ducting comes into the box and the boxes themselves. This may not eliminate the problem but may reduce the reformation time of the filtration soil. 2.) Removing all the carpet around the areas where the Filtration soil has formed and caulking where the gap where sheet rock and the framing. Then reinstall the carpet. This may cause the air to pull from other locations where you did not seal. You can also install wood floors or tile. 3.) Vacuum with a crevice tool and wipe with a damp, white terry cloth. Watch out for the tack stripping just below on the edge of the carpeting, it can cut fingers and be very painful! 4.) Changing your HVAC filters in a timely fashion. Most only last 1-3 months. The more heavily soiled they get the more HVAC system draws from the holes in the system. 5.) Professional Carpet Cleaning every 6-12 months can help keep filtration soil from building up. Filtration soiling is extremely difficult; if not impossible to remove because the particles are very fine and they are deeply embedded into the carpet fibers, and into the backing of the carpet. Prevention and control is the key to avoiding the frustration of dealing with these unsightly black marks.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:21:29 +0000
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